Saving Money in the Sharing Economy

Back when the economy started faltering around 2008, savvy entrepreneurs got creative. Instead of asking strapped shoppers to spend cash they didn’t have, they began offering ways for consumers to access housing, transportation, even appliances, for less. For the millions of Americans who are tired of conspicuous consumption and endless accumulation, the sharing economy offers a simple solution. Even better is that these same “shoppers” can make money from sharing, too.

“Sharing offers consumers an opportunity to lower costs without sacrificing products or services—or making radical changes to their lives,” says consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch. It takes traditional forms of sharing and amplifies them with new technology (think social media, smart phones, and the Internet). And users are glowing. According to Lisa Gansky, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and bestselling author of “The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing”, people who are part of the shared economy report that using these services makes them feel more connected to other people, and frankly, happier.

People who are part of the shared economy report that using these services makes them feel more connected to other people, and frankly, happier.

“Until 2008, more than 70 percent of the U.S. economy was driven by consumer spending. At the same time, marketplaces like Airbnb (where private homes or rooms are rented by owners to guests on a per-night basis) grew over 200,000 listings in 30,000 cities in 2012. The Internet and mobile apps greatly increased the convenience and reduced the cost of sharing,” says Gansky.

Now, you can locate a ride across town with someone who is heading that way using SideCar, use a sophisticated workshop to build a prototype of a new product at TechShop), or borrow space in a commercial kitchen to make homemade jams to sell in Sunday’s farmers market via Culinary Incubator).

Here are some other innovative share programs that are taking the sting out of some pricey propositions:

Starting this summer, the Citi BikeSM system, operated by NYC Bike Share, will offer thousands of bikes at hundreds of stations around New York so New Yorkers and visitors will have an additional transportation option for getting around the city.

Share, loan or give the gear sitting in your garage to friends who will cherish it and you.

Don’t forget to share back. People earn money when they make their unused assets (cars, homes, bikes, talents, etc.) accessible by other people through shared marketplaces.

“Many of these marketplaces provide you with a simple way to share or rent what’s already yours,” says Gansky. For example, the average American uses their car 8 percent of the time. If you use RelayRides to allow your neighbor to use your car while you’re not, your neighbor saves money by not having to own a car and you make an average of $300 per month. The key, says Gansky, is to start where you are, experiment with what feels comfortable, explore, and enjoy.